Iris
by Ophelia7
Summary: Have you ever wondered why Voldemort said "But your mother needn't have died"? This story explores the relationship that could have occurred with Voldemort and Lily Potter and why he had been reluctant to kill her.


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Iris

"Lily, the child must die."

"No! For the love of God, Tom! Don't hurt Harry!"

"Tom is no longer, Lily. I am Lord Voldemort."

"But he's only a baby! What harm would he cause to you?!"

"Nothing now. But I've killed his father. Later on in life, when he's full grown, he will try to kill 

me to avenge his death. I might as well kill him now."

"Please! Please..." Lily Potter sunk to the floor, clutching Harry to her chest, sobbing pathetically. 

"Lily." His voice was cold and distant now. "Give me the child." In that moment of desperation, Lily Potter reached for her wand only to have him grab it and snap it into halves. 

"Lily!" He repeated it once more. "Give me the child!"

"You're a monster! A monster! You'll never have Harry! You'll have to kill me first!" Her green eyes that were normally so calm and serene were now filled with sparks of fire and rage. Baby clutched tightly to her chest, she continued to scream hateful words at him.

All the kindness he had once had for her melted into irritation and anger. How dare she call him such names! But buried deep within, he felt something that he had thought he would never again feel: hurt. During his first year at Hogwarts, when he was "Tom the Mudblood", she was the only person who stuck up for him. His only friend. 

* * *

__

"Get out of the way, Mudblood!"

"Yeah, get out of the way, Riddle!"

Tom Riddle stared down at his hand-me-down sneakers from the orphanage. _Why couldn't he have been born a full blooded wizard like everyone else? It was bad enough that he came from the Muggle world and knew nothing about Hogwarts or Quidditch, or any of the other marvels of the wizarding world._

"Leave him alone, Disby, you troll. Atleast he doesn't smell like you."

The student known as Disby snarled in her direction, obviously angered to have been ranked on.

"Be careful Lily. You don't want to be known as Lily the Muggle-Lover, now do you?"

"Piss off Disby, you goon. Or do you want me to tell everyone about the time you.."

"Shut up!" he growled. Turing to Tom, he spit on him before walking away. "Stay out of my way, Mudblood."

Tom looked up from his shoes into the face of a very pretty young girl with stunning green eyes and a mopful of curly red hair. She was so close that he could notice the sprinkle of freckles across her cheeks.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

* * *

__

She hadn't changed a bit, he mused. She was still a spitfire as she had been when she was only eleven. Of course, she had grown quite a bit. The pretty girl he had known was now an attractive woman with a baby. And she was very powerful as well. They would have made quite a team, Lily and him. If she had chosen him, perhaps he would not have been so evilly inclined. Or perhaps he would have. Either way, he still saw it as that damn Potter's fault..

* * *

__

"Tom, can you keep a secret?"

Tom Riddle looked up from the books he was studying for his final year of Defense Against the Dark Arts class and saw his best friend glowing with excitement.

"What happened to you? You look like you swallowed an illumination potion."

"Haha. Very funny." Her pretty face frowned at him, and she playfully gave him a punch in the arm. "Can you promise or not?"

"Well, I better promise because your punches really hurt." Tom held his arm, pretending to wince in pain. "I ought to go see if Madam Pompfrey can see me-- I think you broke my arm."

She rolled her eyes at his joke and turned away from him exhasperated. "Fine, I won't tell you then."

"Aw Lily, I'm just kidding. Anyways, I've got something to ask you, but you go first."

"James Potter asked me to the Yule Ball! Isn't that great?!?"

Tom sat frozen for a minute, as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. Lilly apparently took that for a good sign and began to ramble on and on about how handsome he was, how athletic he was, and how intelligent he was.

The truth was, Tom had finally mustered up enough courage to ask Lily to the dance himself and was planning on asking her after she told him her news. Now it appeared too late.

Of course, Tom wouldn't have to go alone. There were plenty of girls who would love to go with him. He was quite handsome and smart-- well known for his wit and charm. But he had only wanted to go to the ball with Lily. And now, he would never be able to ask her since it was their final year. 

Later on, when the day of the ball approached, Lily persuaded Tom to drop by and see how she looked before James arrived. When Tom did, he found her a nervous wreck, but ultimately beautiful. She was dressed in a stunning gown of emerald and her hair (which was usually just tied back in a bun) was left long and hanging, her curls accentuating her face.

"How do I look, Tom?" she asked.

* * *

It was so long ago. He remembered wanting to tell her that she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen and that he loved her, but he couldn't. Not when she looked so happy and so eager. He wanted her to be happy. But deep down inside, he felt betrayed by her. And that feeling only grew as he watched his Lily fall in love and marry Potter. He, Tom, should have been married to her, not that wretch Potter. The child that she held in her arms now, he should have been his son. Then he wouldn't have to kill him. And Lily wouldn't hate him as she did now.

Yes, it was because of Potter that this had to happen. Perhaps that was why he took such special care of his death making sure to torture him to his last breath. Perhaps that was why he hated this child so much-- that he looked just like his father and shared his name. He wanted to kill him as he had killed his father-- slowly and painfully. 

He had never intended to hurt Lily. His darling Lily whom he had loved since they had met. But he had to kill the child. He could not spare any part of that damned Potter. Not even his son who was half of Lilly.

Staring down at her, child held defiantly to her chest, he softened for a moment. That instant, before Lily Potter's death, she saw her old Tom for one brief moment. The Tom who she had loved and befriended. The Tom who had softened at the last second and granted her a swift, painless death, the only thing he could give her. Then, she was gone forever and all that was left of Tom Riddle went with her. 

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That's the end. As always, J K Rowling owns her characters-- I just fiddle with them and make up fanfiction. Was it good, or was it too much mush? Fill out a review and tell me.

"_I just want you to know who I am_.."- Iris, the Goo Goo Dolls


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